Battlefield 2042 was revealed to the world just a few weeks ago. Since then, veteran fans of the franchise as well as new-comers have been impatient for details. Luckily, we’ve slowly been getting a steady trickle of fresh information. Our newest scoop is about the setting, and the way battles are going to be fought in the year 2042. It looks like Dice is airing on the side of humanitarian catastrophe, and global collapse. Also, this is very reminiscent of the Spec Ops: The Line game, where you play in a desert-reclaimed Dubai. Evidently, Battlefield 2042 seems to have every intent to go several steps grander in their enveloping dystopia. In this article, we’ll dive right into all available resources, and we’ll share what we know thus far about the game.
Battlefield 2042 trailers, full of only-in-battlefield-moments
First things first, if you haven’t seen the reveal or gameplay trailers yet, you can check them out right here:
It’s pretty clear to any Battlefield fan that the focus of the game is to reclaim its old-school fan base. The reveal trailer is chock-full of references to immortalized Battlefield moments. Even Rendezook’s legendary jet eject and RPG kill makes it in (if you want to see Rendezook’s reaction to that moment, click here). Dice is overtly going all out, making sure to tug on every available string of iconic moments. Add in some of that secret 2042 modern sauce, and voilà! You have a game that is set to build and expand exactly on the things that makes Battlefield great. Although the addition of bots in multiplayer is likely to be a hotly debated topic among fans. At the same time, not many people will mourn the lack of a battle royal mode this time around.
Some new mechanics you can spot in the gameplay trailer below include: VTOL’s, grapple swings (Titanfall inspired?), para-dropping tanks, weapon modification on the fly, autonomous engineer robo-dogs, wingsuits, and some of the most extreme weather conditions ever featured in a battlefield game. I honestly can’t wait to see what insane stunts some people pull off with all these mechanics at play. Smart money is on someone grappling a jet while wing suiting in a tornado, only to perform the world’s most absurd sky-jacking of all time.
I honestly can’t wait to see what insane stunts some people pull off with all these mechanics at play. Smart money is on someone grappling a jet while wing suiting in a tornado, only to perform the world’s most absurd sky-jacking of all time.
BGEEK
Setting
Previous reports made it pretty clear: Battlefield 2042 is not meant to have a single-player experience. Not even Battlefield war stories, like you can enjoy in Battlefield 1 and V, are to be present. Meaning that any kind of story or narrative will have to be played out through the multiplayer only. With 128 players support on PC and the newest consoles, it’s not likely to be a very coherent or harmonic storytelling. However, older gen-consoles will have to be satisfied with just 64 players. You will likely play on a smaller map, so it will be interesting to see how this affects the story yarn.
Dice is saying that their game does not include social commentary. Yet that seems hard to reconcile with a third new hostile force sparring on the battlefield: Mother Nature. Furthermore, it seems the entire world order is in complete dystopian disarray with rising sea levels, collapsing economies and widespread blackouts causing chaos. Even a great many states vanished entirely from the political landscape. Eventually, only long-standing rivals US of A and Russia are left standing as the premier players in a ravished sandbox environment. Rather than dueling on their own turf, both powers will be looking to secure every strategic site in the world. To do that, they’ll need soldiers. And as it turns out, a bunch of foreign legionaries just recently became stateless.
A notable absentee here is China, once a main contender in Battlefield 4. Perhaps they will be part of a future expansion?
Stateless
Players will be taking up the role of No-Pats, meaning non-patriated. In essence, you’ll be a former citizen of these many collapsed states, now a stateless soldier fighting in a proxy war as a mercenary. Your personal end-game is gaining citizenship with either the US or Russia, and you will have to do so in all out warfare. As you’re not an official part of the respective militaries yet, cosmetics and gear are likely going to fully be in the hands of the player.
As well as classless
Furthermore, regular soldier classes are no more. Instead, we’ll be venturing out as specialist roles. Recruited specialists from around the globe, who will be the bulk of the vanguards. In contrast with previous Battlefield titles, you’re now looking at soldiers with their own looks and style. They have their own names, gadgets and traits, much like Apex Legends. And while each of these specialists does fit in a bit in the older categories of Engineer or Recon, they’ll very much be their own person. Also, there will not be any restriction in weapon types, every specialist can carry any primary or secondary weapon and grenade into the field. Only the gadget is locked based on the specialist.
For example, Webster Mckay gets a grappling hook and some traits to improve his accuracy while using it. Maria has the ability to revive teammates from afar, with a specialized revive pistol. Boris the engineer has a sentry turret that is boosted based on proximity to Boris. Casper in turn comes equipped with an OVP recon drone you can manually control, and will alert you to enemy movement. It’s also confirmed that the wingsuit is part of one particular, and thus far unnamed, specialist’s kit.
Battlefield 2042 will launch with 10 available specialists.
Finally, the new weapon customization on the fly seems tailor-made for the enormous maps. When moving from lush fields to urban, tight quarters, you’ll want to swap out some stuff. Switching your scopes, barrel, ammo and under barrel will prove to be the advantageous choice every time.
In essence, you’ll be a former citizen of these many collapsed states, now a stateless soldier fighting in a proxy war as a mercenary.
BGEEK
Season passes
It’s likely that the choice for specialists is inspired by the main competitor Call Of Duty, with their steady flow of new operators in a season pass. It is confirmed that Battlefield 2042 will use both free and paid battle passes. The paid tier will be more about cosmetics, while both battle passes will push and drive the narrative. The first year is divided in four seasons, with four new specialists as well as more new content.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk about where we’ll be deployed to snipe helicopters with our favourite tanks. Based on what we can garner from the trailer shots.
Battlefield 2042: map locations
EA and Dice are touting the colossal maps as their biggest efforts yet, with control points even being broken up in different sectors. For example, designed with 128 players in mind, your team will need to capture several sectors of a stadium to count that point. The patented ‘Levolution‘ technology will play a huge part in allowing destruction to level the terrain. As a result, every game on this scale promises to be different, even on the same maps.
Speaking of maps, we’ve got 7 new maps outlined for you so far:
Orbital
Orbital‘s main focal point is the launch pad for a rocket, which will be ready to take off during the match. Because of the global blackouts, about 70% of all satellites have come crashing down to Earth. Controlling an ideal spot to launch a rocket near the equator, on the western side of the Atlantic, is why great powers want this location based in Korou, French Guiana. EA mentions on their website to look out for upcoming storms, and the rocket launch itself doesn’t always go as planned.
Breakaway
You’ve got BF3 base jumping from Damavand Peak, now enhanced with wingsuits and instead based in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. With Antarctica being a frequent and brutalized oil industry victim; it’s rather clear why the remaining great powers will be fighting for control here. Breakaway is reported as the biggest map of all, with its 5.9 km² surface. For reference, this is about as big as the Vikendi map of PUBG. It will consist of the outlook platform, the resource depot, as well as the oil rigs and the oil port.
Breakaway, this map is likely to be etched in your memory when living in the actual year 2042. “Ah yes, I remember base jumping from the peak and gliding across the entire map, just to get that sniper camper’s dog tags”.
Kaleidoscope
There’s a futuristic looking Songdo, South Korea, which does remind us a bit of Shanghai in Battlefield 4. In Kaleidoscope, we’re looking at a lot of up-close, urbanized warfare based in a metropolis. There are zip lines in place between skyscrapers, allowing you to fulfill all those suppressed Batman needs. There’s also waterways, which mean a touch of naval discord as well. Finally, the main hub of this map is a quantum-powered data centre. Reclaiming or holding control of what remains of intelligence operations is probably our key motivator here. We’ll do so fighting across several floors inside the hub as well.
Hourglass
We’re going to duke it out in Doha, Qatar, while the sandstorms attempt to reclaim us both. Aptly named Hourglass, the state of climate collapse will be omnipresent here. We’ll be exploring rolling sand dunes mixed in with neon city lights for illumination. Some abandoned highways are also present. Vehicles are likely to excel here, with sand buggies and VTOL’s being the only certainty in Hourglass‘ ever shifting sands. Especially because Hourglass is reported to be one of the largest maps.
Manifest
I’ll be coming for your dog tags on this next map, based in Brani Island, Singapore. Promising to host a maze of containers, we’ll be veritable lab rats scurrying up and through a labyrinth. Shotguns are likely to do well here, as we’ll have some of the most intensive infantry fighting available. Cranes are reported to be operable, allowing you to move containers. Finally, with a few anchored ships functioning as control points as well, it’s clear the battle will be forcibly clustered.
Narratively, control of the harbour is a deciding factor in which great power can remain in control of supply lines.
We’ll be facing tornadoes on this map as well, so it’s possible that the steel jungle devolves into a hodgepodge of debris regularly.
Renewal
An almost hopeful note in this otherwise dreary landscape of global collapse, is the map Renewal in Eastern Desert, Egypt. We’re fighting for lush farmlands next to desert terrain with canyons, and a solar power plant embedded in it. Both areas are separated with a big wall in the middle, dividing the play area in two. With a whopping 128 players running amuck, it doesn’t seem unthinkable that it will take several games on this map before you’ve actually seen both sides.
Discarded
Lastly, we’re going to the west coast of Alang, India. Here we’re faced with a scrapyard of retired ships, and the trailer makes it clear that these wrecks are all but stable. Ship walls collapsing on top of the enemy is an untried battle tactic, but likely an effective one. According to Youtuber jackfrags, in the middle of this map there is a massive shipwreck, named the Colossus. Hidden within is a nuclear submarine, complete with intense close-quarters struggles. In short, we’ll be fighting to take control of a discarded, rogue nuclear asset.
Battlefield 2042 game versions
Wrapping up, I’ll show you here which versions of the game will be available. With a total of three versions, and also pre-order bonuses to consider. It’s worth noting that the game releases on 23rd of October, and will include early access with an open beta for pre-orders.
Are you excited for Battlefield 2042? Do you think Dice should have gone in a different direction? Do you know which version of the game you’ll get?
Let us know in the comments or connect with us on our socials @bgeek.eu!